October 10, 2024 11:11 AM UTC

Yes, Aurora Will Pay For The Privilege Of Trump's Insults

• 6 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

As Susan Greene reports for the Aurora Sentinel, clarifying a not-unexpected detail about ex-President Donald Trump’s campaign stop tomorrow barely within the boundaries of Aurora at the Gaylord Rockies resort: the city of Aurora will pay the bill for local police protection and other services to the Trump campaign provided for tomorrow’s dubious drop-in to a city he has spent the last several months falsely disparaging to audiences around the nation who don’t know better as a city “taken over” by migrant criminals:

City spokesman Ryan Luby told the outlet that it is the city’s and Aurora Police Department’s responsibility – not Trump’s — “to ensure a safe visit and mitigate risks, regardless of the associated costs.”

It was unclear as of late Wednesday afternoon what those costs will amount to, and how many city police officers and other staffers need to prepare for, work and clean up after Trump’s appearance in a community he has called a “war zone” and vowed to “liberate” from an influx of Venezuelan immigrants.

The former president and current Republican nominee for president has been the target of two assassination attempts since July. The Secret Service has increased its protection of him. City police presence around Trump’s sold-out rally at the Gaylord Rockies resort near Denver International Airport also is likely to be heightened.

The expense to local governments to protect national politicos and manage the crowds they draw is not a new issue by any stretch, with locals in each party historically prone to complain selectively about costs incurred to accommodate politicians from the opposite side. But in the case of Trump’s visit to Aurora, the unique factor is that Trump is coming to continue promoting his harmful falsehoods about the city, to the point of suggesting he might not even come back alive. This is not a friendly visit by a politician looking to win over voters. Trump is coming to Aurora for the sole purpose of trashing Aurora, and that makes the expense the city must pay for the privilege of being disparaged by Trump stand out from previous examples.

In addition to Aurora shelling out thousands of dollars to protect Trump, the costs of this hastily-arranged visit could affect the city of Denver, with the potential for major traffic disruption along the city’s main access road to the airport Pena Boulevard. Attendees at Trump’s rally have been told that there is no parking on site, which means they’ll be dispersing throughout the neighborhood to available lots. All of this could very well add up to huge problems for thousands of travelers trying to get to the airport tomorrow morning, so if you’re one plan accordingly–and remember who’s responsible.

The hostile message of Trump’s visit to Aurora is itself very unusual in the history of presidential campaigns, and the lack of any factual underpinning for Trump’s depiction of the city seems certain to backfire spectacularly as the accompanying media turns on their cameras and shows the world that Trump is lying. With no realistic chance of flipping Colorado, and the clock ticking down on the final weeks of the election, Trump’s visit to Aurora makes about as much sense as Hillary Clinton’s tour of states she couldn’t win in the closing days of 2016. It seems to us to be a decision made to personally appease Trump’s ego after being criticized for canceling a similarly promised trip to Springfield, Ohio where, once again, no one is eating the cats and dogs.

Such unstrategic pursuits are the hallmark of losing campaigns.